Innocently in Love
by Star of the Moon
Summary: Love is such a curious thought. When it's least expected to settle, it blossoms. Rainsong was a medicine cat, and Stoneclaw had responsibilities to tend to. Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe they were meant for each other. Maybe, they would be, if their responsibilities, didn't keep them apart.
1. Chapter 1

**A new story! Hurray! Okay, this is a little different. I'm co-writing this with a friend of mine (who does not wish to be named) So she'll be writing every even chapter. (ie. then next chapter.)**

He didn't know when it started.

They'd always been friends. They were in the nursery together. Best friends. Inseparable. Even when she became the medicine cat apprentice and they could only spend brief blissful moments together, they were closer than the horizon.

So maybe looking in, this whole situation made sense. But it certainly didn't the way he looked at it.

He was the deputy for StarClan's sake! He couldn't be falling in love with the medicine cat.

But he was, and he was defiantly falling hard.

"Stoneclaw?" The grey deputy turned in surprise to see the very cat he was thinking of staring at him, her gentle blue eyes wide. "Are you okay? You've been really quiet."

"I'm fine, Rainsong," He assured his friend. "Just thinking."

"You should stop doing that," She teased lightly, flicking her light grey tail. "You'll hurt yourself."

He tried to scowl but it came out as a smile. "What're you thinking about?" She asked.

"Nothing," He replied, a little too quickly.

Rainsong's gave him a look that told him she didn't believe him for a second. "Nothing important." He corrected.

She rolled her eyes. "You always say that."

"It's always true." That was a lie. Not a little white lie, but a huge lie. She was important. More important, to him at least, then any other cat.

She shook her head and got to her paws. "Whatever you say, Mister Deputy. I'll see you later. I have to get back to camp. I want to see how Robinpaw's cough is."

Stoneclaw nodded his understanding and watched his friend go, forcing himself to remain silent, though he longed to stand and race after her. To be with her. To simply tell him he loved her.

He quickly shook his head. No, he couldn't do any of those things. He would never be able to. Besides, she wouldn't feel the same way, and their friendship would be ruined. No, he couldn't risk it. He just had to live with what he had.

With a sigh he forced himself to his paws and began padding silently through the forest, looking for prey. By the time he'd caught two squirrels and a scrawny mouse the sun was leaning closer to the horizon and the air was growing cool. Leafbare was defiantly approaching.

Shivering slightly under his thick stone grey pelt, Stoneclaw picked up his prey and padded back to camp.

He bit back another sigh at the sight of the fresh-kill pile and set down his own prey. The only other prey left was a skinny vole that might feed an elder.

Making a mental note to go hunting again later, Stoneclaw padded to the warriors den and flopped down into his nest.

This was not going to be a pleasant leafbare.

**Review please! :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! It's me, the co-author of this story. You can call me _J__. _And it has to be in italics ;) Lol just kidding, but in all seriousness, here is the second chapter! :) **

* * *

Rainsong padded back to camp slowly, her mind filled with one thought. Stoneclaw.

Even at the mention of his name, her heart rate increased. Why? They had been friends forever! Why was this happening _now?_

They couldn't be together. That much she knew. She was the medicine cat! She couldn't take a mate! Besides, Stoneclaw had dozens of she-cats falling for him already. He wasn't interested in plain old her.

Feeling slightly self-conscious now, the light grey she-cat gave her chest a quick lick.

She'd always been ordinary. Her mother had told her that when she was a kit, hadn't she? Plain as the rain she'd said. But that didn't matter now. Right now she had to get back to camp. Robinpaw needed her full attention if he was going to get better.

"How do you feel?" Rainsong asked the apprentice when she reached her den.

The ginger tom yawned and looked at the grey medicine cat. "Better." He admitted. Then he coughed. "Like I said, better. Not perfect."

Rainsong nodded and dug around in her herb supply. A moment later, she produced a clump of tansy.

"Eat this." She instructed. The apprentice obeyed quickly then jumped to his paws.

"Can I go now?" He begged. "I feel so useless, just sitting here!"

Rainsong sighed and shook her head. "You have to rest if you're going to get better. Besides, I can't afford having you spread this. I'm already running low on herbs."

The tom sighed and sat back down, grumbling about how he felt fine. She laughed a little and shook her head. "You'll thank me later, Robinpaw." She assured him.

"Probably not." He complained, laying his head on his paws.

The medicine cat smiled to herself and padded out of the den. "I'm going to collect more tansy," She told the apprentice. "Stay here."

There was a loud sigh in response. Rainsong shook her head, then saw Stoneclaw talking to his apprentice, Silverpaw. The she-cat almost laughed at the look of pure admiration filling the young she-cat's eyes.

"Stoneclaw," She called, padding to his side.

He looked up and smiled. "Meet me in the training hollow," He told Silverpaw, then he padded towards his friend.

Silverpaw glared at Rainsong then turned and walked way, her head held high.

Rainsong bit back a chuckle and directed her attention to her friend.

Her very muscular, incredibly nice, friend. _Stop it! _She scolded herself.

"Rainsong?" She blinked as Stoneclaw said her name, probably not for the first time either.

"Oh. Sorry." She said sheepishly, trying to calm her heart. _He's just Stoneclaw! _She snapped at herself.

"You needed something?" He asked.

"Oh! Right." She nodded in agreement. "Um… Yes. Robinpaw is in my den. I was just going to ask you to make sure he stays there. I mean, you don't have to _watch _him, but if you see him training send him back." She stopped quickly. She had started to ramble.

Whiskers twitching in amusement, Stoneclaw nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him." He assured her.

"Thank you." She sighed in relief, then turned, glad to have an excuse to leave. If she stayed much longer she wasn't sure if her heart could handle it.

"Rainsong?" She paused and turned to face her friend, an amused look on his face. "Elegant as usual."

Rainsong forced out a laugh, then practically ran away, her heart banging almost painfully against her chest.

Taking deep breathes, she padded through the forest, glad for the quiet. She tasted the air for tansy, and was pleasantly surprised to scent some nearby.

Head still spinning slightly, the young medicine cat was surprised she managed to pull up any tansy without passing out from their strong scent.

She was even more surprised to feel a set of claws digging into her back. A squeak of fear escaped her, and the claws dug deeper into her back.

"Hold still, sweetie." A voice sneered. "And you won't get hurt."

Rainsong didn't move. She could hardly breathe. Who were these cats? What did they want with her?

Suddenly she was pulled off the ground and thrown roughly to the side. Before she could even think of running away, a black tom with angry grey eyes shoved her to the ground.

"You're going to scream," He growled, digging a claw into her throat. "And then you're going to call for help. Think of your favorite warrior. Or your leader. Just call someone."

Rainsong nodded, and the claw was released from her throat. But the tom kept her pinned down.

"Help!" She yowled, not knowing what else to do. "Stoneclaw!"

Pain shot through her belly as a set of claw was raked down her front.

"HELP!" She yowled again, her throat burning. "HELP!"

"Rainsong!" The last thing she heard before passing out was Stoneclaw's panicked voice calling to her.

* * *

**I know it's short, but I promise that as it gets more 'dramatic' the chapters will be longer. **

**-_J_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay new chapter! This one is really long! :) Thank to everyone who reviewed! :) **

"Help! Stoneclaw, help! Help!"

Stoneclaw froze, his hunting stance only half way set. Rainsong!

"Silverpaw, go get more warriors and tell them Rainsong is in trouble!" He commanded his apprentice, and without waiting for her to answer he was running.

"I'm coming, Rainsong!" He yowled.

"Stoneclaw!" He heard her wail. Desperation and fear were obvious in her voice.

The tom lowered his head and sprinted, ignoring the burning in his muscles.

"Rainsong!" In that moment, Stoneclaw didn't care that he loved Rainsong. He wasn't worried about what the clan would say, and he certainly didn't care if Rainsong knew. All he cared about right now, right here, was that a cat he loved was in danger, and he would do anything to protect her.

He burst through the clearing with one thought in mind. _Keep Rainsong safe. _

"Stoneclaw is it?" A huge black tom sneered at the deputy. Stoneclaw felt a growl rise in his throat.

This tom had Rainsong pinned down. Blood was flowing steadily from a wound on her neck, and for a horrible moment Stoneclaw thought she was dead.

_You will not take her today, StarClan! _Stoneclaw snarled silently, and without bothering to answer the tom, Stoneclaw charged at the cat, catching him by surprise.

The black tom stumbled backwards, and for the first time Stoneclaw could see him clearly. Scars decorated his coat and muzzle, and his grey eyes buried with hatred.

"A fighter then?" He hissed.

"You have no idea." Stoneclaw growled.

"I think I do," The tom said, crouching low, ready to pounce at any moment. Stoneclaw copied him and soon they were slowly, cautiously, circling each other. "You love her. It's obvious to any cat with eyes." The tom said absently.

"She's my best friend." Stoneclaw growled. He didn't know why he bothered telling this cat. He should be trying to fight him! But right now neither seemed ready to fight. Stoneclaw knew somewhere in his mind that he should wait for Silverpaw to bring more warriors, but what was this cat waiting for?

"She loves you too." The tom said nonchalantly, ignoring Stoneclaw's last comment.

"We are friends." The deputy said through gritted teeth.

"Oh no, you're more than that." The tom said. "You're defiantly in love."

"Shut up." Stoneclaw snapped.

"So what would happen if I..?" The tom didn't finish, because in that instant he leaped at Rainsong. Stoneclaw let out a snarl of rage and charged at the tom again, but this time he was ready. He jumped back, claws unsheathed.

Stoneclaw stood protectively between the tom and Rainsong, his claws already unsheathed.

"You can't protect her and fight me at the same time," The tom said. "So what are you going to do, Stoneclaw?"

Stoneclaw hesitated. What he had in mind was very dangerous. Not for him, but for Rainsong. If he managed it though she would be safe. If he messed up she could be…

He shook his head. He wouldn't even _consider _that possibility.

"I don't know," He began. "You truly do have the upper paw. I mean, if you…" Suddenly he leaped, and with a moment of pure joy he realized he'd managed to take the tom by surprise and had him pinned to the ground.

"What now?" The tom hissed. "You wouldn't kill me. You clan cats are too soft."

"Then you've obviously never met a clan cat like me." Stoneclaw snarled, too angry to think clearly.

He raked his claws down the cat's sides, then brought one claw to rest on his throat.

"You can have this scar to match hers." He whispered, his voice shaking with rage. Then he dug his claw into the tom's neck and slowly ran it across his throat. Not deep enough to kill him, but defiantly deep enough to leave a scar.

"Stoneclaw, that's enough." The deputy froze suddenly and lifted his head. Snowstar, his _leader_, was watching him, her light blue eyes filled with worry. "Let him go. He's learned his lesson." Stoneclaw hesitated, then slowly he released the tom and let him run off.

Stoneclaw opened his mouth to say something, anything, to explain his actions, but Snowstar silenced him with a flick of her tail. "Help me get Rainsong back to camp. Then I want to speak with you in my den." The deputy nodded, his heart sinking.

What had Snowstar seen? Did she know he loved Rainsong? If she did how was she going to punish him?

Once Stoneclaw was sure Rainsong was safe, he left her side to go see Snowstar. In his mind he knew Brightflower, the retired medicine cat and Rainsong's old mentor, could take care of his injured friend. But the image of that horrible black tom raking his claws down the gentle she-cat's belly was enough to make any decent cat worry.

Sighing, Stoneclaw padded to the entrance of Snowstar's den, then hesitated.

Just as he was about to call inside, a soft, tired voice answered. "Come in."

Stoneclaw took a deep breath, then entered.

Snowstar was lying on a bed of moss, grooming her sleek white pelt. Her light blue eyes made the she-cat look ancient, even though Snowstar had only lost one life so far.

"Snowstar, I…"

Snowstar silenced him with a flick of her tail. "Stoneclaw, I saw your fight with that tom. And while I'm glad that you were able to come to Rainsong's aid so quickly, I can't help but wish you'd waited for reinforcements."

"I know I should have," Stoneclaw said quickly, "But I just… I couldn't let some cat just… torture Rainsong. She couldn't protect herself. She's my best friend." He finished in a whisper, thoughts of what might have happened if he hadn't acted when he did filling his mind.

Snowstar's expression softened slightly. "I know how important Rainsong is to you, and that's one of the reasons I called you here."

Stoneclaw took a deep breath as his heart accelerated. "We're just friends."

Snowstar sighed. "I wish I could believe that, Stoneclaw. But I can already tell. You aren't just friends anymore, are you?"

Stoneclaw paused. He didn't want to answer. He couldn't answer. Because he already knew the truth. He loved Rainsong with every bit of his being. But admitting it out loud to his _leader_ of all cats would make it so much more real. But he had to.

"I love her." He whispered. And it hit him. This whole concept of love had been strange and unreal to him, even though he knew it. But now… now that he'd said it he understood it. And it hurt knowing that he couldn't be with her, and that she would never return his affections. "Oh StarClan, I love her!" He said, a little louder.

His breathe caught in his throat and his heart began banging painfully against his chest. "How can this happen?" He moaned. "She's a medicine cat!"

"Stoneclaw,"

The deputy froze, then slowly turned his head towards his leader. He'd forgotten she was even there! "I'm so sorry, Snowstar." He whispered.

Snowstar smiled sadly. "It's okay, Stoneclaw." She said softly, a kind smile on her young face. "I know you didn't ask for this. And as long as you two don't show affection towards each other you'll be fine. But be very careful, Stoneclaw." She warned, suddenly serious. "Our emotions can make us do stupid things. Don't do anything unless you're sure you'd do it for any other clanmate."

Stoneclaw opened his mouth to reply, when there was a rustling behind him. He spun around, surprised to see Brightflower entering the den. The grey warrior opened his mouth to ask why she wasn't with Rainsong, when she cut him off.

"She's awake, and asking for you, Stoneclaw."


End file.
